Leading civil servants fear the Prime Minister will effectively bind the hands of Gordon Brown by signing Britain up to a rewritten version of the European Union constitution days before he finally resigns at the end of June.
MR BLAIR'S PLAN TO FORGE CLOSER LINKS WITH FRANCE AND GERMANY - something he has wanted to do since coming to power in 1997 - are causing consternation in Whitehall and the Chancellor's camp.The move puts at risk Labour's hopes of a "stable and orderly transition" of power, a process which will begin this week when Mr Blair spells out his departure plans.

If Mr Brown wanted to undo any or all of Mr Blair's moves to sign away powers, he would be locked into a series of bruising and time-consuming negotiations that could dominate his tenure at No 10.
A senior civil servant told The Sunday Telegraph: "THE CONCERN IS THAT THE OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER WILL TAKE CONSTITUTIONAL DECISIONS WHICH WILL BIND BOTH HIS SUCCESSOR AND THE COUNTRY FOR YEARS WITHOUT OBTAINING THE SAY-SO OF HIS SUCCESSOR, AND POSSIBLY WITHOUT EVEN CONSULTING HIM.

"There is a worry he believes this should be part of his political legacy and that he will be acting as an individual and not the leader of a government."Mr Blair will announce this week that he will remain as Prime Minister for about seven weeks, allowing Labour time to elect his successor and hold a separate poll for deputy leader.

Tony Blair intends to use his remaining weeks in office to surrender British powers to Brussels as part of his drive for a European "legacy", senior Whitehall officials claim. Tony Blair's move would dominate Gordon Brown's tenure at No 10

Leading civil servants fear the Prime Minister will effectively bind the hands of Gordon Brown by signing Britain up to a rewritten version of the European Union constitution days before he finally resigns at the end of June.
Mr Blair's plan to forge closer links with France and Germany - something he has wanted to do since coming to power in 1997 - are causing consternation in Whitehall and the Chancellor's camp.

The move puts at risk Labour's hopes of a "stable and orderly transition" of power, a process which will begin this week when Mr Blair spells out his departure plans.If Mr Brown wanted to undo any or all of Mr Blair's moves to sign away powers, he would be locked into a series of bruising and time-consuming negotiations that could dominate his tenure at No 10.

A senior civil servant told The Sunday Telegraph: "The concern is that the outgoing Prime Minister will take constitutional decisions which will bind both his successor and the country for years without obtaining the say-so of his successor, and possibly without even consulting him. "There is a worry he believes this should be part of his political legacy and that he will be acting as an individual and not the leader of a government."

Mr Blair will announce this week that he will remain as Prime Minister for about seven weeks, allowing Labour time to elect his successor and hold a separate poll for deputy leader. Mr Brown is a virtual certainty to succeed Mr Blair. Today, John Reid, the Home Secretary, and John Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary, who were touted as potential leadership candidates, will formally declare they will not stand against the Chancellor.

Mr Blair's announcement will effectively usher in a US-style transition period before the Chancellor takes over. Prime Minister in all but name, Mr Brown will stage regular meetings with leading "front-line professionals" including military top brass, security chiefs, police leaders, health bosses and senior education officials.

He will also make a series of wide-ranging speeches and hold "Let's talk" gatherings with Labour Party members and ordinary voters. But Whitehall officials are concerned about Mr Blair's desire to stay on and attend two major summits in June, a G8 meeting of world leaders and a European Council in Brussels.

The latter will see Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, put forward a new set of proposals for a Brussels power-grab which would not need to be endorsed by referendums in member states. Two years ago, a formal EU constitution, signed by all member states, was scrapped after "No" votes in referendums in France and Germany.

Civil servants fear Mr Blair will sign up to moves EXTENDING THE 48-HOUR MAXIMUM WORKING WEEK to more people, which business believes could cost £9 billion, and plans to GIVE EUROPEAN JUDGES GREATER SAY OVER BRITAIN'S CRIMINAL LAW. The proposals would also lead to A PERMANENT AND POWERFUL EU PRESIDENT AND A "FOREIGN MINISTER" WITH A SEAT ON THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL.

Not only is the company Britain's biggest firm and among the five highest payers of corporation tax - contributing £1.34billion to the Exchequer last year alone - but it employs thousands of people in London.
BP, now the world's fifth largest company - employing 97,000 people - is an iconic British business founded as part of pre-war imperial foreign policy and was the flagship of Margaret Thatcher's privatisation policy.

If it moved abroad there can be no doubt that other multi-nationals based in Britain, such as HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone would also consider similar moves. Last year HSBC publicly mooted quitting Britain for a more tax-friendly environment.

Last year BP paid £900 million more to the Exchequer than in 2005. The total amount paid over the past five years is £3.8 billion. In January Kraft relocated its European headquarters from Britain to Switzerland because of its tax-friendly regime. And insurer Hiscox has announced it is leaving the UK for Bermuda, where corporation tax is 10 per cent, compared to three times that here.

Financial Mail on Sunday has also discovered that dozens of other UK companies have been working on secret plans to move overseas in an effort to reduce tax. Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, warned last year that the 'unsustainable' tax burden on business could lead to a flood of multinationals leaving the country.

In America the corporation tax rate is as little as seven per cent, while France is aiming to introduce a 10 per cent tax rate on big business. For years Lord Browne extolled his company's crucial role in the UK economy. And it is also the safe repository for billions of pounds of pension fund money and the investments of 1.3 million individual shareholders.

Any shift of BP's operational centre to the US, where it earns most of its profits and employs most of its people, would help avoid the uncomfortable spotlight each time the price of a litre of fuel rose. The vast remuneration packages enjoyed by the company's top executives would also attract much less attention in the US.

1 - BABIES WEANED ON JARRED FOOD SOLD IN SUPERMARKETS ARE BEING TRAINED TO HAVE A SWEETER PALATE. Though the label reassures parents that the contents include only pure fruit and fruit concentrates, a 213ml jar of junior baby food apple and blueberry contains 33g of sugars - which is about the same as 11 sugar cubes. The permitted level of sugar in baby food products is 30 per cent; recent proposals to cut this to 10 per cent as part of the global fight against obesity were blocked by the EU and the US.

2 - 'USE-BY' LABELS ARE REGULARLY - AND LEGALLY - SWITCHED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE THE PRODUCE HITS THE SHELF OF YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET. The practice of switching labels to extend the life of food is perfectly legal, so long as it is done within the "recognised shelf life of the product", says the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. In 2004, the British FSA investigated claims by Which? Magazine that labels on chicken were being switched up to 20 times before they hit supermarket shelves.

3 - SIX BOTTLES FOR THE PRICE OF FIVE, 40 PER CENT OFF THIS, 25 PER CENT OFF THAT. Around two thirds of the wine we buy is now sold on promotion, but just how 'special' are these offers? The Guardian's wine writer Victoria Moore recently launched an investigation into wine promotions and found that they aren't always what they seem. She claims that the 'original', higher, price is often artificially concocted with a view to supermarkets selling the wine at that price for the shortest time legally allowable, before slashing the price and offering an impressive discount which is - you guessed it - all the wine was worth to begin with.

4 - DO YOU WANT A DIVORCE WITH THAT LITRE OF MILK? In Britain, Tesco is now selling DIY divorce and wills packages from its Tesco Legal store. For just £14.99 or €22, you can buy a Separation and Divorce kit, which is legally binding in England and Wales (and get 14 Clubcard points in the process), while the store's best-seller is a £9.99 or €14.66 Power of Attorney kit.

5 - THREE THOUSAND MILES IS THE AVERAGE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY YOUR FOOD BEFORE IT HITS THE SUPERMARKET SHELF.

6 - SOME OF THE 'IRISH' LABELLED CHICKEN FILLETS SOLD IN SUPERMARKETS ARE ABOUT AS IRISH AS COCONUT MILK. According to the Department of Health, supermarkets regularly buy in meat products (other than beef) from outside the EU, make some 'substantial transformation' to them in the form of a sprinkling of spice or breadcrumbs, and relabel them as 'Irish' with local brand names and even health marks. This is all perfectly legal, but is it ethical?

7 - SMELL ANYTHING FUNNY IN THE FRUIT AND VEG AISLE? No? Didn't think so. That's because the fruit and veg on display has likely undergone what author of the supermarket expose, Shopped, Joanna Blythman, describes as a bizarre kind of 'beauty pageant' designed to make the produce look more attractive to consumers, give it the longest shelf life possible and, in the process, inadvertently strips it of any flavour or scent.

8 - EVER WONDERED WHY SPINACH ONLY COMES IN BAGS? Supermarkets have simply stopped stocking it loose and sell it in bags, in a modified atmosphere (known as Modified Atmosphere Packaging, or MAP) that extends its shelf life by up to 50 per cent and strips it of every last vestige of taste.

9 - IF YOU NEED A VITAMIN FIX, STEER CLEAR OF PREWASHED VEGETABLES AND 'FRESHLY' PREPARED FRUIT SALAD. Typically in MAP, the oxygen is reduced from 21 per cent to 3 per cent and the CO2 levels correspondingly raised. This slows any visible deterioration or discolouring. Great technology, it's just a shame about the side effects. The British Journal of Nutrition carried out a study which showed that MAPping strips vegetables of vitamin C, vitamin E, polyphenols and other micro-nutrients. Research published by Which? magazine found that sliced chilled runner beans, for example, contain 89 per cent less vitamin C than their just-harvested brethren.

10 - WHEN IS A CHICKEN FILLET NOT REALLY A CHICKEN FILLET? When it's a) 70 per cent chicken; b) 54 per cent chicken, or c) 43 per cent chicken? The answer is: none of the above - at least if the chiller or freezer cabinet in your local supermarket is an indication. According to the Irish Food Safety Promotions Board "it is not illegal to process chicken fillets by adding water and other ingredients, provided that these ingredients are approved and clearly stated on the label of pre-packed products, in addition to the added water content.

11 - WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE CONTINENTS? This extract from a 2005 report by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland describes in stomach-churning detail the journey in 2001 of 400 million chicken breasts from Thailand and Brazil into European wholesale catering establishments, and from there into some of the prepared chicken dishes sold in restaurants and supermarkets.
"On import, European processors tumble or inject defrosted imported chicken fillets with water and binding agents such as animal proteins (derived from a variety of different sources, including gelatine, BLOOD, whey protein, spray-dried BEEF AND PORK PROTEIN, some of which may be mechanically recovered). The issue of 'freshness' also arises as fillets with added ingredients that have been frozen and refrozen at different stages in the food chain may be sold in establishments as 'fresh chicken'.

12 - ONE IN FOUR EURO SPENT ON FOOD OR HOUSEHOLD GOODS IN IRELAND IS SPENT AT TESCO, BUT THE RETAILER WON'T DISCLOSE ITS IRISH PROFITS.

13 - THE CHILLY TRUTH ABOUT REFRIGERATED READY MEALS. Thousands of time-poor consumers are opting to buy chilled ready meals over their frozen alternatives in the expectation that they're doing something better for their family. Compared with frozen foods, many chilled, prepared foods come loaded with additives. And you don't necessarily get what you pay for - ironically, the more upmarket-looking, aspirational versions are often the worst offenders.

14 - FANCY A QUICK HAM SANDWICH? READ THIS FIRST

Now you're avoiding chilled ready meals and prepared salads, slinging the ingredients for a ham sandwich into your shopping trolley might seem like a quick and healthy lunch option. Not necessarily. Sliced white pans have fallen out of fashion with the health-conscious, but INDUSTRIAL WHOLEMEAL LOAVES - 70 per cent of which are bought in supermarkets - aren't much better. An analysis of the label shows they're pumped full of water, yeast and chemicals to stop the bread going mouldy and help it hold more water, hard fat to stick it all together and salt to compensate for the lack of taste. And according to research published in July 2005 by Britain's Pesticides Residues Committee, WHOLEMEAL BREAD CONTAINS MORE PESTICIDE RESIDUES THAN ANY OTHER TYPE.

If you're planning to use a butter substitute, you might be wise to avoid 'cholesterol-lowering' spreads. The label on one such spread carries a warning that the product shouldn't be consumed by pregnant or breastfeeding women. That's because of the much-vaunted plant sterols, which are potential hormonal disrupters and can reduce the consumption of some vitamins. Yet these spreads were found separated from the butter on one supermarket shelf by the heading "healthier options".

15 - A HOMEMADE SHEPHERD'S PIE CONTAINS ABOUT SIX INGREDIENTS. A SUPERMARKET ALTERNATIVE MAY HAVE UP TO 60. An own-brand sweet and sour chicken dish on sale in the chilled cabinet of one Irish supermarket chain has over 70 ingredients. 'Cooked chicken' accounts for just 20 per cent of it. And even the chicken itself has more than 20 ingredients - five of them E numbers.

16 - IF TESCO WERE A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE 54TH RICHEST IN THE WORLD. It's one of a handful of supermarkets that controls much of what the world eats. In Australia, two companies, Woolworths and Coles, sell a third of all food consumed. In the US, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, controls 20 per cent of a $450 billion market. In Britain, the so-called 'big four' sell 75 per cent of the country's groceries, with Tesco alone controlling 30 per cent of the market.

17 - BANGLADESHI WORKERS MAKING TESCO T-SHIRTS EARN 7 CENT AN HOUR. A recent report by the charity Action Aid also found that women supplying British supermarkets with cashew nuts are earning just 44 cent a day for work that exposes their hands to corrosive acids. Tesco said it acknowledged that conditions in developing countries were "difficult", but added that trade was the best route out of poverty.

18 - IN 1980, THE AVERAGE MEAL TOOK ONE HOUR TO PREPARE; NOW IT TAKES 20 MINUTES. It is predicted that this figure will shrink to eight minutes by 2010.

19 - SUPERMARKET CHAPLAINS, NAIL-BARS AND EVEN IN-STORE WEDDINGS COULD ALL SOON BE PART OF THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. Wal-Mart, which owns the Asda chain of stores, attributes its success to a policy of low prices, selling non-food items, and what it calls 'retailtainment'. In Britain, this has translated to offering customers the services of an in-store chaplain or their local MP. There are actors working as greeters, nail bars, singles nights and Asda has even hosted a wedding in one of its British stories.

20 - FANCY YOURSELF AS AN ETHICAL SHOPPER? Well don't clap yourself on the back just yet. Many organic brands marketed as if they are small, independent, benevolent firms are actually owned by trans-nationals. They include Seeds of Change, bought by Mars in 1997 ; Green & Black's , snapped up by Cadbury Schweppes in 2005; and Back to Nature, held since 2003 by Kraft, which is a subsidiary of Altria, the company that owns tobacco giant Philip Morris.

"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," Zawahiri says in answer to a question posed to him an interviewer. Continuing in the same tone, Zawahiri says, "We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing 200,000 to 300,000 killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson."

Based on the references to the bill, the tape, produced by al Qaeda's propaganda arm, as-Sahab, appears to have been made after Congress passed the legislation last week but before President Bush vetoed in on Thursday. There has been a flurry of audio and video releases featuring Zawahiri, although no new communication from Osama bin Laden since mid-2006.

Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco no longer celebrates Mass in the cathedral of Genoa, Italy, with assistance from altar boys or deacons, not since the death threats began after he spoke out against government plans to legalize same-sex unions.

Bagnasco, recently appointed head of Italy's Conference of Bishops, stirred controversy last month when the group issued a statement directed at Catholic lawmakers, reminding them of their moral obligation to oppose the move toward mainstreaming homosexuality. In the statement, Bagnasco made a "slippery-slope" case for what could go wrong in Italian society if the Church's moral position was not upheld.

"Why say 'No' to forms of legally recognized cohabitation which create alternatives to the family? Why say 'No' to incest? Why say 'No' to the pedophile party in Holland? He asked. Following the comments, threatening messages "Shame on you, Bagnasco" and "Death to Bagnasco" signed with the five-pointed star of the Red Brigades terror group were painted on the walls in the city, including those of the cathedral.

The Red Brigades, very active in the 1970s, have assassinated several senior Italian public figures in recent years. Fifteen alleged members of the communist organization's members were arrested and jailed three months ago, reported the Glasgow Sunday Herald. While police do not presently believe the bullet's sender is affiliated with any terrorist group, they've taken no chances.

Ironically, in the battle that is pitting religious and secular views of morality against each other, taxpayer-funded policeman are now standing in for altar boys during Catholicism's most sacred ritual.

The protest was the third this month to be organised by supporters of Turkey's secular constitution, who object to Islamist Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. An opposition boycott in the first round led to Mr Gul failing to win a majority and the vote being annulled.

The row over the presidency has exposed deep divisions in Turkey. The army, which has long regarded itself as the guardian of the country's secular constitution, has voiced its opposition to Mr Gul's candidacy. It believes Mr Gul has an Islamist agenda, an allegation he denies. He has pledged to adhere to the republic's secular principles if he were elected.

Mr Gul's promise was not enough, however, to stop further protests by tens of thousands of secular Turks against his candidacy in the towns of Manisa and Canakkale on Saturday. Earlier demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul drew more than a million.

The term of the current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, finishes on 16 May.

Benedict XVI met with prelates from a bishops' conference based in Belgrade and reminded them that Christ wanted his Church to be open to everyone. The Pope said that today during an audience with prelates from the International Episcopal Conference of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The bishops were in Rome for their five-yearly visit. The conference includes Catholics of Latin and Byzantine rite from Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

The [Pontiff] said: "The various countries and the various social and religious environments in which your faithful live bring no small number of repercussions to their Christian life." The Pontiff mentioned specifically questions such as "marriages between people of different confessions or religions which require particular spiritual attention and a more harmonious cooperation with other Christian Churches, the religious education of the new generations," and "the formation of sacred ministers and their spiritual accompaniment in a multiconfessional environment."

He said: "It is important to help seminarians" and for priests "to cultivate an intimate relationship with Jesus if they wish to accomplish their mission to the full and not just see themselves as simple 'employees' of an ecclesiastical organization. The priest is at the complete service of the Church, a living and spiritual organism that draws her energy not from nationalistic, ethnic or political factors, but from the action of Christ present in her ministers."

Benedict XVI recalled that Christ founded a universal Church: "Over the course of the centuries, tradition maintained [the Church's] universalistic character unaltered as she slowly spread and came into contact with different languages, races, nationalities and cultures."

The Pope thus encouraged the bishops "to be an evangelical 'leavening' that ferments society" and to seek to involve "all members of the People of God, using all available tools of Christian formation, translated into the various languages of the people."

"Providence placed your peoples on a European continent that, over these years, has been undergoing a process of reconstruction," Benedict XVI said. "Your Churches also consider themselves as part of this historical process, well knowing that they have their own specific contribution to make.

"Unfortunately there is no lack of obstacles: the scarcity of means because of the economic situation, and the paucity of Catholic forces. Nor is it easy to forget the difficult heritage of 40 years of" communism "that gave rise to forms of social behavior not conducive to freedom and personal responsibility. At the same time, it is difficult to resist the temptation of Western materialism."

"Do not lose heart!" the Pope urged the bishops.

He told the prelates that the Lord "has put you in close contact with our Orthodox brethren. As limbs of the one Body, seek all possible forms of collaboration in the service of the one Kingdom of God. "Do not be unwilling to collaborate with other Christian confessions and with all people of good will in order to promote everything that may help propagate the values of the Gospel."

As a horrifying video of the stoning went out on the Internet, the British arm of Amnesty International condemned the death of Du'a Khalil Aswad as "an abhorrent murder" and demanded that her killers be brought to justice.
Reports from Iraq said a local security force witnessed the incident, but did nothing to try to stop it. Now her boyfriend is in hiding in fear for his life.

Miss Aswad, a member of a minority Kurdish religious group called Yezidi, was condemned to death as an "honour killing" by other men in her family and hardline religious leaders because of her relationship with the Sunni Muslim boy.

A large crowd watched as eight or nine men stormed the house and dragged Miss Aswad into the street. There they hurled stones at her for half an hour until she was dead. The stoning happened last month, but only came to light yesterday with the release of the Internet video. It is feared her death has already triggered a retaliatory attack. Last week 23 Yezidi workmen were forced off a bus travelling from Mosulto Bashika by a group of Sunni gunmen and summarily shot dead.

An Amnesty International spokesman in London said they receive frequent reports of honour crimes from Iraq ? particularly in the predominantly Kurdish north. Most victims are women and girls who are considered by male relatives to have shamed their families by immoral behaviour.

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a veteran California teacher whose school officials ordered him to remove several banners carrying slogans from American history, such as "In God We Trust." "Unfortunately, it seems like religion is now treated as a disease or pathogen that has to be removed or eradicated from the public at all costs," said Robert Muise, of the Thomas More Law Center, which is bringing the action against Poway Unified School District.

The superintendent, Donald Phillips, justified the sudden removal of banners that had been used for 25 years by Westview High math teacher Brad Johnson. "The fact that we've been doing something inappropriate for a long period of time doesn't make it right," Phillips said. "As we become a more diverse society, we must have a greater sensitivity."

The federal civil rights lawsuit alleges a violation of Johnson's constitutional rights in the order by school officials to remove the banners not because they contributed to any disruption, but because they promote a "Judeo-Christian" viewpoint.

Johnson, a 30-year teacher, had used them almost since the beginning of his career without opposition. They include the national motto, "In God We Trust;" a 1954 amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance, "One Nation Under God;" and an excerpt from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, "All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator." The words "God" and "Creator" triggered the reaction from school officials.

Not only was the action viewpoint discrimination, but it conveyed a "government-sponsored message of disapproval of and hostility toward religion," a violation of both U.S. and California Constitutions, the lawsuit said. "It is without question that religious people founded this nation," said Muise. "As a result, references to God are common in our songs, mottoes, and slogans. And it is the responsibility of our nation's public schools to educate students to be informed citizens."

Christians in Nigeria, who make up about half the population, are expressing fears Islamic law already being enforced in northern states will expand nationwide with the inauguration this month of a new "devout Muslim" president, according to a report from the Voice of the Martyrs. Musa Yar' Adua was governor of Katsina state in northern Nigeria, where he and nearly a dozen other governors over recent years have imposed Islamic religious law as the law of the government, officials said.

As a result, Christians have lost basic rights such as having a location to meet and meeting there, officials have confirmed. Nearly 1,000 homes of Christians and many churches have been destroyed in those regions, and documentation of Islamic law is everywhere. "If you go around villages, you will see people missing one hand or one foot," explained Rev. Obiora Ike. "Do you think that's the result of an illness? That is the result of sharia law."

"Based on statistics, there is a 70-to-80 percent chance that a [Christian] child will abandon the church and their faith in a public school career," Moore told WND. The bottom line, then, is Christian parents need to lobby their pastors, pastors need to lobby their denominations, and their denominations need to start programs creating and operating public schools.

"There are many denominations that no longer hold the Bible as the inerrant teaching of God," he said. "They're not going to see this need. The public school is their religion."

There are some changes brightening the horizon. Christian schools are growing up to 5 percent a year, homeschooling is growing at rates up to 15 percent, he said.

A board member for Equality California has come out swinging at the Bible-based Capitol Resource Institute, which works on behalf of family and biblical values in California, especially among its lawmakers. "If you continue your efforts, we will BURY you," said an e-mail from Ben Patrick Johnson, to his "colleagues" at the CRI, according to a statement from the Christian organization. "For a group that purports to expand tolerance and civil rights, Equality California is not practicing what it preaches," CRI said.

"This type of language evokes images of Communist leader Nikita Khrushchev pounding his shoe on the podium of the United Nations when he declared that Communism would bury America," said CRI. "The irony is not lost on us Communists squelch all opposing speech, just as the modern 'intolerance' movement seeks to silence all opposing viewpoints.

"Johnson then threatens 'we have every intention of yours [group] going down, as have others who oppose decency and human rights.' It is shameful that a group that represents itself as promoting tolerance and civil rights would stoop to the very tactics it accuses CRI of using. Not once has CRI personally attacked opponents in such a degrading and vicious manner," said the organization.

"In a video diatribe against CRI posted on his website, Johnson declares that CRI and its supporters are 'hate peddlers' and 'conservative, religious prejudice peddlers.' He further declares that we are 'smirky, self-righteous folks' who have 'launched an aggressive campaign against legislation to protect gay youth in California's and ultimately America's schools.'

This statement reveals not only the vitriolic language this supposed 'tolerance' group uses, but also the true agenda behind such legislation as SB 777. The radical homosexual agenda intends on sweeping the nation. California is merely the first step in the campaign to stifle free speech and stamp out opposition to 'alternative lifestyles,'" CRI said.

As WND has reported, SB 777 is a plan that would require all public schools in California to eliminate anything that could reflect "adversely" on the homosexual lifestyle choice. It could mean the words "mom" and "dad" would be banned. It's a plan the California Assembly approved a year ago, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it. An earlier description of SB 777 from CRI noted that it "forcibly thrusts young school children into dealing with sexual issues, requiring that homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality be taught in a favorable light."

"Pushing this radical homosexual agenda in California schools will stifle the truth in favor of political correctness and will inevitably conflict with the religious and moral convictions of both students and parents," said CRI Executive Director Karen England. "The full ramifications of this sweeping legislation could affect the entire nation as most textbook companies tailor their material to their number one purchaser: California."

A key point in the article was al-Maliki wrote a letter in January ordering commanders of the "Mahdi Army," who also have ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, be moved from Iraqi front lines where American and coalition troops were active, the MEMRI report said.

The "Mahdi Army" is the group of terrorists and fighters assembled by al-Sadr, who has preached Islam's "Madhi" soon is to return, and American forces invaded Iraq in order to capture and kill him. Al-Sadr has refused to disband the estimated 5,000-8,000 in his group because he claims it is the "Madhi's Army" and he cannot disband it, as other fighting factions in Iraq have been required to do.
The document, translated by MEMRI, said:

"Based on a phone conversation with Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr and [after] consulting with [Iraq's National Security Advisor] Dr. Muwafaq Al-Rubai'i, in order to preserve our great achievements and in light of what the present circumstances demand, we ask to temporarily conceal the commanders of the Mahdi Army, who are connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, [and to remove them] from the front line [of battle] in order to protect them from being arrested or killed by the American forces. [The names of the commanders] are listed below. It would be best to send them to Iran for the time being, until the crisis passes.

"In addition, [we ask] to send the commanders from the second line [of battle] to the southern regions, since we know that intensive efforts are underway to persuade the Americans to leave the situation [there] as it is. All administrative and security arrangements for the transportation of these commanders have [already] been made.

"We ask you to implement [these orders] and report to us.

"[Signed,] Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minster (sic) [of Iraq]"

Al-Maliki, who visited President George Bush in the White House in 2006, said then those who advocate violence were being addressed.

"I would like to assure the political and religious leaders and civil societies that the Iraqi parties, politicans, religious leaders are rising to their responsibility and are condemning those who are cooperating with al-Qaida and those who are trying to start a civil war," he said.

Al-Sadr has been described as a fiercely anti-U.S. cleric who commands the Madhi Army, blamed with multiple bloody battles against U.S.-led troops in recent months.

Addressing the Second Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, Chen Deming, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China has a huge potential to exploit its abundant domestic energy resources.

"China is not only a major energy consumer, but also a giant energy producer," said Chen, who is head of the Chinese delegation. He said the country has abundant coal reserves and bright prospects to develop hydroelectricity, wind power, solar energy and bioenergy. It also has the potential to increase its oil production and its exploration for natural gas, Chen said.

Chen also dismissed claims that the country had been a major factor in the increasing global oil price, although it did need to import a certain amount of oil and natural gas to supplement its energy supplies. The unstable regional situation, fund speculation and natural disasters are the main factors behind the abnormal rise of the oil price, he said.

Condoleezza Rice, the American secretary of state, and her Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, had a chance encounter yesterday which symbolised the state of relations between their two countries.Both had signalled their willingness to meet at a summit on Iraq's future in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

This would have been the first formal contact between the two countries at foreign minister level since diplomatic ties were severed almost 28 years ago when an Iranian mob held 66 US diplomats hostage in the Teheran embassy. Instead, Miss Rice and Mr Mottaki found themselves seated near to each other during a lunch break in the Egyptian conference centre.

Given that President George W Bush has branded Iran a pillar of the "Axis of Evil" - retaliating for years of Iranian abuse on the theme of America as the "Great Satan" - this might have been an awkward moment.
But Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, saw the pair exchange some "welcoming remarks". Like the countries they represent, they were unable to avoid one another and also unable or unwilling to bridge the gulf between them. Mr Zebari, who has been playing a mediating role between the two sides, said: "I believe that an in-depth, bilateral meeting between the two here is not a high possibility."

But he laid out the key reason why America and Iran both have an interest in dialogue. Iraq's chaos is developing into a foreign policy catastrophe for Miss Rice and a significant headache for Iran. Teheran is willing to stir the violence by arming Shia militias - but still fears the consequences of anarchy on its western border.

Mr Zebari predicted that Miss Rice and Mr Mottaki would meet in the weeks ahead. "The tension is too high. Everybody has pushed the envelope to the limit. That is why there is an impetus to look at some regional, collective action to stabilise the situation," he said. But Miss Rice did meet Syria's foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, in the first encounter between the countries at this level for two years. US officials say the country has begun stemming the flow of fighters crossing the border into Iraq.

Iraq also appealed to its neighbours to cancel its debts "to enable it to start reconstruction", said Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister. Iraq owes Saudi Arabia, the biggest creditor, £8.5 billion but the kingdom has quietly agreed to cancel 80 per cent of this sum.